Co-occurring chronic pain and primary psychological disorders in adolescents. A scoping review

Abstract Purpose Long term health conditions, whether mental or physical, often co-occur in adolescents. For instance, adolescents with chronic pain may experience co-occurring primary psychological disorders. In this scoping review, we determine the influence of co-occurring chronic pain and primary psychological disorders on adolescents’ functioning. Methods A systematic search of six databases was conducted to identify articles if they were: 1) peer-reviewed; 2) reported original findings; 3) included participants aged 11-19 years, who experienced chronic pain (i.e., pain lasting 3 months or more) and had a co-occurring diagnosis of a primary psychological disorder; and 4) assessed functioning. Results Searches returned 9,864 articles after removal of duplicates. A two-phase abstract and full-text screening process identified two eligible articles which compared emotional functioning (n=1) and social functioning (n=2) between groups of adolescents with co-occurring chronic pain and primary psychological disorders with adolescents only reporting chronic pain. Overall findings revealed no differences in social functioning, but adolescents with co-occurring chronic pain and a primary psychological disorder (depression and anxiety) reported worse emotional functioning compared with adolescents with chronic pain alone. Conclusion This review confirms the limited research on co-occurrence of primary psychological disorders and chronic pain in adolescents by only identifying two eligible articles exploring the co-occurrence of chronic pain with depression, anxiety, and/or attentional disorders.